General Motors Places Risky Bet on New Impala

By Jeff Bennett

General Motors Co.

2014 Chevrolet Impala

In its heyday, the Chevrolet Impala inspired a song by the Beach Boys and held a starring roll in the gritty, 1970s detective show “Baretta.” But in recent years, the big sedan has become almost forgettable, drawing mostly rental-car company and government agency buyers.

Now General Motors Co. is betting it can make the 54-year-old Impala a head-turner again, all part of a broader plan to reinvigorate its offerings with 13 redesigned cars and trucks next year and regain the favor of American car shoppers.

The 2014 Impala, which hits showrooms in April, would be the first remake of the car in seven years, mixes technology—such as an eight-inch movable infotainment screen and lane-departure control—with a fashion knack that includes colored stitching on seats and chrome lettering.

Dealers and reviewers say reconnecting the faded nameplate with consumers won’t be easy. The Impala makeover comes much later than other aging models from the era of land cruisers that have already undergone overhauls—such as the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, and GM’s own Buick LaCrosse.

“The redesign looks better than the old model,” says auto-information website Edmunds.com reviewer Dan Frio. “Is it good enough to compete against the Taurus and Chrysler 300? I don’t know.”

Leo Bunnin, owner of Bunnin Chevrolet in Culver City, Calif., sells less than 100 Impalas a year. But he says, the brand has staying power and the redesign could work. “The Impala name was a magnet and I think it could be again.”

GM needs some hits in its bread-and butter Chevy brand, which accounts for about 75% of its vehicle sales in the U.S. Years ago, GM could credibly tout Chevrolet as American as baseball and apple pie. But a string of poor quality cars and its government-backed bankruptcy have left GM with a tarnished image, and it is paying a price. Through the end of the third-quarter, GM’s market share stood at 17.6%, compared with 19.7% in the same period of 2011.

Next year, GM will redesign and upgrade 13 Chevrolet vehicles, including big sellers such as the Silverado pickup truck, its iconic Corvette sports car and the Suburban and Tahoe sport-utility vehicles.

The Impala likely faces the toughest battle. First introduced in 1958, the Impala name grew to encompass a series of different cars. In the ’60s one featured a big block engine that inspired the Beach Boys’ song “409.” In the ’70s, actor Robert Blake drove a rusted 1966 Chevy Impala in “Beretta.”

Today’s lumbering sedan offers few modern features to tempt car-buyers. In a cost-saving move a few years ago, GM stopped equipping the car with the chrome, leaping antelope that had symbolized the Impala for decades.

Last month, only about 7% of the shoppers who searched for large sedans on Edmunds.com bothered to check out the Impala, down from 15% in May 2007. This year GM is on track to sell about 170,000 Impalas, down from the 311,000 it sold in 2007 and a fraction of the more than 1 million Impalas sold in 1965 and 1966.

Comments (5 of 26)

Government Motors rightly named. Spend millions to produce some focus-group approved unbuttered toast that no one will buy and step back and wonder why. And to the nimrod that listed the Volt as one of the best cars in the world, you owe me $2,000 for my share of the tax bill that bailed this pig out of bankruptcy. The Volt line was shut down due to poor sales. Not enough green tards to buy them.

12:03 pm December 1, 2012

NoFromOz wrote :

Here in Australia no way regardless of the vehicle, support for GM vehicles is very lousy. People here want American made cars from American made hands. Quality and sturdiness is out the window and any kind of part takes up to month. People here were buying until they found support is absolutely terrible and I mean terrible. The front of this Impala looks very similar to the Aussie ford as for the rear quarter panels looks almost like a Dodge Avenger from this angle. Support and Quality Always goes a long way, I believe manufacturers have lost this.

3:50 am November 28, 2012

wolfman wrote :

How do the sales from Europe figure in overall numbers for Chevrolet? I see daily hundreds of the smaller Chevy models here in Germany. Even have a Chevy dealer in the next village from where I live. And would love to see some of the bigger models make it here.

7:22 pm November 27, 2012

ken wrote :

Why bother - It's one of the ugliest cars on the road and previous models have a horrible interior with
giant Fisher Price like knobs.

1:32 pm November 27, 2012

fesfaf wrote :

I think george is a shill for GM. Lots of folks drive foreign cars. Most think they are a better car.